Modular press and forming machine

ABSTRACT

A highly adaptable machine for performing a plurality of selectively set up metal working operations on either wire or strip metal stock, providing maximum versatility as to the number, nature, or sequence of such operations. A symmetrical mounting bed of variable length is constructed from modules and has standardized mounting provisions by which all tooling and machine attachments are mounted at any selected location on the mounting surface. Adjustable length forming slides are disposed to act in a direction parallel to the process line and are effective at any distance therealong. Peripheral shafting to drive all attachments is supported around the mounting bed by detachable bracket attachments containing precision bearings. Stock is fed along the process line by a feed attachment having a relatively small mass to decrease the load thereby presented to the process cycle. A transfer attachment is incorporated to convey the workpiece through a sequence of press and forming operations that is independent of the stock.

United States Patent Olsen et al.

MODULAR PRESS AND FORMING MACHINE Inventors: Frederick C. Olsen,Huntington Beach, Calif.; David W. Knight, Stratford; Werner Allweier,Huntington, both of Conn.

The US. Baird Corporation, Bridgeport, Conn.

Filed: Feb. 1, 1972 Appl. No.: 222,545

Assignee:

US. Cl. 72/405, 72/455 Int. Cl B2lj 9/02 Field of Search 72/405, 421,306, 318, 72/455, 338, 456; 113/1 F, 7 R; 29/52, 57,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,276,557 10/1966 Brown 192/134Primary ExominerCharles W. Lanham Assistant ExaminerM. J. KeenanAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Wooster, Davis & Cifelli [57] ABSTRACT A highlyadaptable machine for performing a plurality of selectively set up metalworking operations on either wire or strip metal stock, providingmaximum versatility as to the number, nature, or sequence of suchoperations. A symmetrical mounting bed of variable length is constructedfrom modules and has standardized mounting provisions by which alltooling and machine attachments are mounted at any selected location onthe mounting surface, Adjustable length forming slides are disposed toact in a direction parallel to the process line and are effective at anydistance therealong. Peripheral shafting to, drive all attachments issupported around the mounting bed by detachable bracket attachmentscontaining precision bearings. Stock is fed along the process line by afeed attachment having a relatively small mass to decrease the loadthereby presented to the process cycle. A transfer attachment isincorporated to convey the workpiece through a'sequence of press andforming operations that is independent of the stock.

17 Claims,'26 Drawing Figures Q A 4 R w 4 Q i v s PATENTEBAPR 30 1914saw 01 or 12 PATENTED m! 30 m4 SHEET UB-BF 12 mtmsmrn mw 3307215 sum 4on or 12 PATENImAPnsown I 3'807 215 sum 1150? 12 v mmmmsomu $807215 sum'05 UF12 PATENTEBAPR 30 mm sum 07 0F 12 .E P W PATENTEWaao m4 sum '10 HF12 MODULAR PRESS AND FORMING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a multiple press and forming machine forprocessing either wire or strip stock, and more particularly to such amachine which has been improved to versatilely perform the sequentialoperations specified by a multitude of process plans.

A multiple press and forming machine is anassemblage of several machineand tool attachments which are organized to accomplish the fabricationof a metal part from a sequence of metal working operations inaccordance with a particular process plan. The operations utilized byany process plan may vary in complexity and can include such processesas piercing, blanking, swaging, drawing, bending, riveting, andassembling. Versatility of any multiple press and forming machine is,therefore, dependent on the number, the sequence and the nature of pressoperations which can be performed thereby.

Hitherto, machines have been used to sequentially perform a plurality ofmetal working operations. Limitations to all of these machines, however,are encountered either as to the nature, or the number, or the sequenceof the operations which can be performed. Most machines of this typeutilize a cast mounting bed of fixed length and particular mountingconfiguration which limits the number of operations performed andrestricts the performance of particular operations to precise locationsalong the bed. Many machines distribute power to the operations fromperipheral shafting supported at fixed locations on the sides of thecast bed which confines the performance of press and forming operationsto particular segments of the bed and necessitates the use of splitbearings having low precision and high cost. Some machines limit thepower available for press and forming operations by utilizing a stockfeed attachment which usurps a high percentage of the total poweravailable over the process cycle.

In many known machines, the nature of the operations performed islimited because the workpiece must be conveyed between operations as anintegral piece of the stock. These machines also limit the number ofoperations performed, in that the stock feed increment must becompatible to the centerline spacing existing between operations. Mostof these machines can be arranged to process separate workpieces fromopposite ends of the mounting bed but none 'can interassemble theseparate workpieces-at a common operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore a general object of thepresent invention to provide a multiple press and forming machine whichminimizes and obviates the disadvantages of the prior art.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a multiplepress and forming machine which per forms sequential press and formingoperations in accordance with a multitude of process plans regardless ofthe number, or the nature, or the sequence of the operations involved.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide amultiple press and forming machine having a mounting bed of modularconstruction which can be varied in both length and mounting surface.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a multiplepress and forming machine which has asymmetrical bed with standardizedmounting provisions for all attachments at any selected location alongthe top and side surfaces thereof.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide amultiple press and forming machine which has fonning slides disposedparallel to the process line and effective at any selected location.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a multiplepress and forming machine which has peripheral shafting supported inprecision one piece bearings by detachable bracket attachments.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide amultiple press and forming machine having a stock feed attachment whichhas a relatively small mass and can be driven with relatively lesspower.

It is still another specific object of the present invention to providea multiple press forming machine having a blank transfer attachmentwhich increases the potential density of press operations, permits pressoperations not otherwise performable on the stock to be included in aprocess plan, provides a load phase shift means between two sequences ofoperations, and permits separate workpieces to be processed fromopposing ends of the machine and joined at a single assembly operation.

These objects are accomplised in one form according to the presentinvention by fabricating modules from which a machine bed is constructedto have a length I and mounting surface compatible with the processplan. The modular bed has standardized mounting provisions for allattachments at any location along the top and sides thereof.Complimentary mounting provisions are provided on all tooling andmachine attachments which can be positioned at any desirable locationalong the sides or top of the bed. An intermediate link is incorporatedinto forming slides disposed parallel to the process line by which theeffective length is adjusted in accordance with the process plan. Alltooling attachments are driven from peripheral shafting which issupported by detachable bracket attachments .containing one pieceprecision bearings. A stock feed attachment utilizing a reciprocatingcarriage is actuated from a non-reciprocating spline to reduce the massreciprocated. A blank transfer attachment is.incorporated to establish amode for conveying the workpiece to press and forming operations afterit has been severed from the stock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFTI-IE DRAWINGS The manner in which these and otherobjects of the invention are achieved will be best understood byreference to the following description, the appended claims, and theattached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembled multiple press and forming machineinto which the invention has been incorporated;

FIG. 2 is a side elevated view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevated view thereof illustrating the motorand variable speed drive;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a basic module to serve as a mountingbed and having standardized mounting provisions for all attachments onthe top and all four side surfaces thereof;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of both a basic and supplemental modulesassembled to serve as a mounting bed and having standardized mountingprovisions for all at- FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a partiallyassembled machine showing the frame of an attachment utilizing both thetop and side mounting provisions and the bearing support bracketsutilizing only the side mounting provisions;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the machine taken substantially along line7-7 of FIG. 1 illustrating the stock check and the stock feedattachments;

FIG. 8 is a partial section thereof taken substantially along line 8-8of FIG. 7 to illustrate the mounting of the detachable support bracketsto the standardized mounting provisions of the mounting bed;

FIG. 9 is a foreshortened and simplified section thereof takensubstantially along 99 of FIG. 1 to illustrate the adjustable lengthformingslides operating parallel to the process line;

FIG. 10 is a partial section thereof taken substantially along line l010of FIG. 7 to illustrate the general construction of the stock feedattachment;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary plan view thereof illustrating thereciprocating stock feed carriage having portions thereof cut away toreveal the grippingmechanism;

FIG. 12 is a partial section thereof taken substantially along line 12l2of FIG. 11 to illustrate the spline actuated gripping mechanism withinthe reciprocating stock feed carriage; 1

FIG. 13 is a section thereof taken substantially along line l3-l3 ofFIG. 12 to illustrate the disposition of the reciprocating stock feedcarriage on the spline and guide rods;

FIG. 14 is a section thereof taken substantially along line I414 of FIG.1 illustrating the synchronized action between the stock checkattachment and spline rotation;

' FIG. 15 is a partial section thereof taken substantially along line15-15 of FIG. 1 to illustrate the structure supporting the blanktransfer attachment and the relative mounting position it occupiesacross the mountin bed;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged partial section thereof taken substantially alongline l6--16 of FIG. 15 to illustrate a pair of cooperating fingerassemblies holding a blank;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged partial section thereof taken substantially alongline 17 17 of FIG. 16 to illustrate the detailed construction of asingle finger assembly;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged partial section thereof taken substantially alongline 18-18 of FIG. 1 to illustrate the blanktransfer attachmentoperating between the progressive die operation of the first transferpress operation;

FIG. 19 is a simplified fragmentary plan view thereof FIG. 24 is anenlargedv fragmentary view thereof illustrating the tool holderarrangement at the progressive die operation;

FIG. 25 is a sectional view thereof taken substantially along line 2525of FIG. 1 to illustrate the relative positioning of the blank transferassembly at. the slide forming operation; and

FIG. 26 is a partial section thereof taken substantially along line 2626of FIG. 25 to illustrate the reciprocal drive for the blank transferattachment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to the drawings,FIGS. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a side elevated view respectively, ofa multiple press and forming machine 10 into which the improvements ofthe present invention have been incorporated. Essentially the machine 10is an organized assemblage of individual attachments to a mounting bed12, which performs a sequence of metal working operations alonga'process line in accordance with a process plan. 'A stock feedattachment 14 is mounted at one end of the bed 12 and feeds stock 16along the process line at the top of the bed. Operating in conjunctionwith the stock feed attachment 14 is a stock check attachment 18 whichlocks'the stock 16 in a position of progression along the process linewhile operations are performed on the stock 16. Typical attachments forperforming metal working are mounted at the top of the bed 12 andinclude a progressive die operation 20, a pluralityof transfer dieoperations 22, and a slide forming operation 24. For the sake ofclarity, only tool holders 25 are shown at each operation to whichconventional metal working tooling can be secured. A blank transferattachment 26 is mounted on the top of the bed 12, parallel to theprocess line, to convey the workpiece from the progressive die operation20 to all succeeding operations. All attachments are driven from shafts28 peripheral to the bed 12 as typically illustrated in FIG. 22 and allsequential timing between the attachments is accomplished through theseshafts 28. Bevelgears interconnect the peripheral shafts 28 at eachcorner of the machine and the shafts 28 are supported around the machine10 by detachable support brackets 38 as illustrated in FIG. 8..v Theperipheral shafts 28 are rotated by any suitable means such as through aflywheel pulley 39 from a variable speed drive 40 and a motor 42, asillustrated in FIG. 3.

The mounting bed 12 provides standardized mounting for all attachmentsand is of modular construction, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 a 6, so thatits mounting surface can be varied to accommodate a multitude of processplans. In its simplest form the mounting bed 12 consists of a basicmodule 44 with a fixed length and mounting surface as illustrated inFIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 5,

supplemental modules 46 are connected to the basic.

module 44 to increase the length and area of the mounting surface inpredetermined increments. The .top surface and all exposed side surfacesof the basic supplemental modules 44 and 46 are adapted withstandardized mounting provisions such as T slots 48 and these provisionsare continuous along the full length of the major axis. Where desirablethese provisions may be continuous along the full length of a pluralityof axes. Supplemental modules 46 and all attachments have complimentarymountings provisions to those of the mounting bed 12 and mount theretoon the top, or

on the sides, or on both the top and the sides. This is illustrated inFIG. 6 where the detachable support brackets 38 are shown to mount onthe sides of the bed and a frame 50 of a typical progressive dieoperation 20 is shown to mount on the top and side of the bed. Whetheran attachment mounts on the side, or top, or side and top of the bed 12,it can be freely positioned at any location along the mountingprovisions. Therefore, the metal working operations maybe freelyarranged to comply with the order dictated by the process plan. An opentrough 51 exists between cross ribs 52 in both the basic andsupplemental modules 44 and 46 which makes it possible to finish aworkpiece at any location along the mounting bed 12.

The general use of the standardized mounting provisions on the mountingbed 12 to mount any attachment or to interconnect the basic andsupplemental modules 44 and 46 is illustrated in FIG. 8 where themounting of the detachable support brackets 38 is specifically shown.Bolts 53 are disposed through the detachable support brackets 38 and aresecured to captive nuts 54 disposed in'the T slots 48 on the mountingbed 12. A cylindrical spacer 56 is shown between a gear box 58 and thebrackets 38, however, the captive nuts 54 are free to slide within the"T slots 48 so that the brackets 38 can be mounted at any location alongany side of the mounting bed 12; Therefore the brackets 38 can beseparated from the gear box 58 by the width of one or more metal workingoperations if necessary to accomplish a given process plan. Each bracket38 is of one piece construction and is adapted to contain a single pieceprecision bearing 60 by suitable means such as an interference fit. Whenthe mounting bed 12 is constructed with a plurality of modules toaccommodate a particular process plan the brackets 38 are disposed asrequired along the mounting bed 12 to support the peripheral shafts 28.Thereafter the brackets 38 with the bearings 60 can be relocated tocomply with the changing requirements of another process plan, by merelysliding them along the standardized mounting provisions 'of the bed 12.

As is conventional, a combination of both horizontal slides 61 andvertical slides 62 are arranged to converge upon the workpiece'at theslide forming operation 24. However, in this multiple press and formingmachine 10, forming can be performed at any selected location along themounting bed 12. To accomplish this the vertical slides 62 andhorizontal slides 61 acting across the trough 51 are adapted to mount tothe T slots 48 at any selected location along the mounting bed 12 asillustrated in FIGS. 19 and 25. The horizontal slides 61 acting alongthe length of the mounting bed 12 are disposed in the trough 51 asillustrated in FIG. 9, and are adapted to be continuously adjustable-inlength for operation at any selected position along the mounting bed 12.Any suitable means may be utilized to provide this adjustable length,such as an intermediate link 63 disposed between the ends of thehorizontal slide 61*. Reaction forces are propagated through the stockwhen operations are performed thereon and these forces cause the stock16 to move relative to the process line. To preclude this motion it isconventional to incorporate the stock check attachment 18 across theprocess line as illustrated in FIG. 14. The stock check attachment 18utilized in this invention differs from conventional stock checkattachments in that it provides for rotation of a spline 64 in timedsequence with the checking action on the stock 16. As discussed indetail later in this specification, this spline rotation is utilized toactuate the gripping action of the stock feed attachment 14. i

In its general construction, the stock check attachment 18 grips thestock between a fixed shoe 65 and a movable shoe 66 as illustrated inFIG. 14 where the movable shoe 66 is in contact with the left side ofthe stock 16. The movable shoe 66 is attached to a follower link 68which is disposed in a check housing 70 and is biased to follow the riseof a rocker arm 72 by a spring 74. The rocker arm 72 is pivotallyattached to the .check housing 70 at one end by suitable means such as apin 75 and has a roller 76 affixed to its other end. This roller 76follows the rise of a cam 78 which is driven from the peripheral shafts28. The fixed shoe 65 is in contact with the right side of the stock 16and is affixed to'a link 80 which is disposed in the check housing 70 tohave an adjustable length for positioning the fixed shoe 65 relative tovarious stock 16 thicknesses.

A rocker arm 82 is also pivotally attached to the housing 70 on theright side of the bed 12 by suitable means such as a pin 83. One end ofthis rocker arm 82 is pivotally attached to the first end of anadjustable length link 84 by suitable means such as a pin 85. The secondend of the adjustable length link 84 is pivotally attached to the firstend of a translating link 86 by suitable means such as a pin 87. At itssecond end the translating link 86 is rigidly affixed to the spline 64which is rotatably disposed through the check housing 70 by suitablemeans and extends therefrom in the direction of the stock feedattachment 14. A roller 88 is rotatably affixed to the other end of therocker arm 82 by suitable means. A cam 90 is affixed to one of theperipheral shafts 28 and the roller 88 is disposed to follow the risethereof. The check housing 70 is also adapted to provide a structuralsupport for the ends of two guide rods 92 which extend therefrom in thedirection of the stock feed attachment l4 and will be further discussedlater in this specification.

When the machine 10 is in operation, the stock 16 moves along theprocess line which passes between the fixed and movable shoes 65 and 66of the stock check attachment 18. As the cam 78 rotates it causes therocker arm 72 to pivot about pin 75 and when this pivotal motion is in aclockwise direction, the'follower link 68 is caused to drive the movableshoe 66 toward the fixed shoe 65 to grip the stock 16 therebetween.Simul-- taneous to this, the cam 90 rotates to a position which causesthe rocker arm 82 to pivot about pin 83 in a counterclockwise directionand this causes the adjustable length link 84 to drive the translatinglink 86 in a counterclockwise direction. The spline 64 follows themotion of the translating link 86 directly and therefore turns in acounterclockwise direction which, as explained later in thisspecification, causes the stock feed attachment 14 to release its gripon the stock 16. When the pivotal motion of rocker arm 72 iscounterclockwise, the stock 16 is released by the stock check attachment18 and simultaneous thereto, rocker arm 82 pivots in a clockwisedirection which causes the stock feed attachment 14 to grip the stock 16on clockwise rotation of the spline 64.

The stock feed attachment l4 utilizes a stock feed carriage 94 movingwith reciprocal motion to feed the stock 16 along the process line asillustrated in FIGS. 7, 10 13. The stock feed carriage 94 is containedin ceive a gripping mechanism 100 with which a positive gripping actionon the stock 16 is attained as illustrated in FIGS. 11 13. A slottedgroove 102 traverses one side of the carriage housing 96 with itsslotted portion in communication with the cavity 98. At three locations,cylindrical channels 104 are disposed through the carriage housing 96with'their axes parallel to the axis of the slotted groove 102. Bushings106 are inserted in both ends of each channel 104 and the guide rods 92,referenced above in the discussion of the stock check attachment 18, aredisposed through two of the channels 104 and slide freely therein. Thespline 64 which was discussed above as part of the stock checkattachment 18 is disposed through the third channel 104 and lubricationducts 108-are disposedin the carriage housing 96 in communication withall three channels 104. The gripping mechanism 100 is assembled into thecavity 98 of the carriage housing 96 before either the guide rods 92 orthe spline 64 are disposed through the carriage housing 96.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, a roller link 110 in the gripping mechanism100 is-adapted to have a splined aperture by suitable means such as witha splined bushing 112. Radially from this splined aperture, the rollerlink able means such as a pin 120. At its second'end, the

push link 116 is pivotally attached by suitable means such'as a pin 122,to a gripping shoe 124 which is disposedin the slides freely through theslotted groove 102 of the carriage housing 96.- At its second end,thepull link 118 is pivotally attached by suitable means such as a pin126, to the first end of'an adjustable pivot block 128 which extendsfrom the cavity 98 of the carriage housing 96 and is disposed to freelyslide therethrough. The second end of the pivot block 128 is disposedexteriorly to the cavity 98 and is configured to have a'wedge head- 130with an inclined surface. A wedge block 132, having a complimentaryinclined surface to that of the wedge head 130 is inserted thereunderand is adjustably' secured to the carriage housing 96 by suitable meanssuch as a captive bolt 134. A bearing plate 136 is mounted to thecarriage housing 96 over the slotted groove 102 by suitable means suchas bolts 137.

As discussed previously the guide rods 92 and spline 64 extend from thestock check attachment 18 and are disposed to pass through the carriagehousing 96, it must be aligned to pass through the splined bushing 112in the roller link 110 of the toggle mechanism 100. After the guide rods92 and spline 64 have been disposed through the carriage housing 96,they are aligned parallel to the process line and are supported in asupport extension 138 of the mounting bed 12 as illustrated in FIG. 10.1

Reciprocal motion at a variable stroke is applied to the stock feedcarriage 94 from an eccentric having any suitable construction. One suchconstruction is illustrated in FIG. where a geared driver 140 isrotatably driven from the peripheral shafts 28 through a gear 142. Afollower link 144 is pivotally affixed at any selected location along aradial T slot 146 in the geared driver 140 by suitable means. Thefollower link 144 actuates a lever 148 hinged at its first end to thesupport g extension 138 by suitable means such as abearing 149. At itssecond end, the lever 148 is pivotally attached to the first end of anadjustable length link 150 by suitable means such as a pin 151. Thesecond end of the adjustable length link 150 is attached to a clevis 152by suitable means such as mating threads. This clevis 152 is pivotallyaffixed to a tongue 153 on the cariage housing 96 by suitable means suchas a pin. i

In operation the stock feed attachment 14 feeds stock 16 incrementallyfrom storage reels through the stock check attachment l8 and thereafteralong the process line as required by the process plan. The stock feedcarriage 94 is reciprocated along the guide rods 92 and spline 64 with astroke equal to a predetermined feed increment and gripping action ofthe stock fe'ed carriage 94 is synchronized with the stroke to carrystock 16 in the direction of the stock check attachment 18. At thebeginning of its stroke, the stock feed carriage 94 is located at itsgreatestdistance from the stock check attachment l8 and is actuated bythe spline 64 to grip the stock 16. The stock feed carriage 94 thenadvances toward the stock check attachment 18 to the end of its strokeat which time it is actuated by the spline 64 to release the stock 16.Then without influencing the position of the stock 16 the stock feedcarriage 94 returns to its initial position at the beginning of itsstroke to complete one process cycle. The

- feed increment is determined from and is equal to the incrementalspacing existing between the operations performed on the stock 16 alongthe process line.

The gripping mechanism within the stock feed 1 carriage 94, operates togrip stock 16 disposed in the slotted groove 102 of the carriage housing96 between the bearing plate 136 and the gripping shoe 124, as can bestbe understood by reference to FIG. 12. The stock feed carriage 94 gripsthe stock 16 when the spline 64 is rotated clockwise. Upon suchrotation, the roller link also turns clockwise to cause the translatinglink 114 to dislocate the pin and the first ends of both the push link116 and the .pull link 118, in a downward direction away from spline 64.This'causes the distance between pins 122 and 126 to be increasedalongan axis through pins 122 and 126. The location'of pin 126 is fixedalong this axis bythe relative insertion of the wedge block 132 underthe wedge head and therefore the gripping shoe 124 is forced towards thebearing plate 136 to grip the stock 16 therebetween. When the stock feedcariage 94 is actuated to grip the stock 16, negligible torsionaldeflection occurs along the length of the spline 64 due to its rigidity.Therefore the gripping force applied to the stock 16 remains the sameover the stroke of the stock feed carriage 94. The grip on the stock 16is released by the stock feed carriage when the spline 64 is rotatedcounterclockwise. This causes the roller link 110 to dislocate the pin'120 and the first ends of both the push link 116 and the pull link 118,in an upward direction toward the spline 64. The distance between pins122 and 126 is thereby decreased which necessitates that the grippingshoe 124 move away from the stock 16 and bearing plate 136.

v Gripping pressure for various stock 16 thicknesses is adjusted priorto operation of the machine 10 by changing the spacing between thegripping shoe 124 and the. bearing plate 136. This is accomplished byvarying the location of the fixed pivot point of pin 126 through anadjustment of the captive bolt 134 to change the orientation of thewedge block 132 relative to the wedge head 130 of the pivot block 128.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the reciprocal motion of the stock feedcarriage 94 is generated from the geared driver 140 by the follower link144 which causes the lever 148 to sweep an are periodically about thebearing 149. The are motion of the lever 148 is imposed on the first endof the adjustable length link 150 which translates the arc motion tolinear motion at the clevis 152 due to the constraining action exertedby the guide rods 92 on the carriage housing 96. Because the arc motionis periodic the linear motion is periodic and the stock feed carriage 94reciprocates along the guide rods 92 at a predetermined stroke equal tothe feed increment. Magnitude of the stroke is adjustable by varying thelocation of the pivotal connection between the gear driver 140 and thefollower link 144 along the radial T slot 146. v

Incorporation of the blank transfer attachment 26 into the machine isillustrated in FIGS. l8 and 26. In its general construction the blanktransfer attachment 26 is made up of rails 154 disposed along theprocess line to which finger assemblies 156 are secured across theprocess line in a plurality of pairs. The finger assemblies 156 in eachpair cooperate to hold a blank 158 therebetween as illustrated in FIG.18 where the pairs of cooperating finger assemblies 156 are shown to bespaced along the process line at an incremental distance X. Alloperations along the process line to which blanks 158 are transferredare also spaced at the incremental distance X and each pair ofcooperating finger assemblies reciprocate to move the blanks 158 betweentwo operations. The rails 154 are rigidly connected at oneend of themachine by a drive bridge 160 which is driven reciprocally at a strokeequal to the incremental distance X, from the peripheral shafts 28 asillustrated in FIG. 26.

As shown in FIGS.- 15' 18 the rails 154 are sup-, ported along the topof the mounting bed 12 in channel blocks 162 which are mounted tobracket supports 164 by suitable means such as bolts 165. Clearanceexists in the channel blocks 162 for the rails 154 to slide therein. Ashouldered groove 166 runs the full length of each rail 154 in whichcaptive nuts 167 are disposed for mounting the finger assemblies 156. i

In each finger assembly 156, a finger 168 is slidably retained in afinger block 170 as. illustrated in FIG. 17 n by suitable means such asretaining pin and 'slot not shown. A spring 172 is disposed in thefinger block 170 to bias the finger 168 in the direction of the blank158. Each finger block 170 has a'pair of slots 173 through which it isadjustably mounted to a key block 174 by suitable means such as bolts175. As illustrated in FIG. 16 this adjustment permits the distanceseparating the finger assemblies 156 across the process line to bevaried to accommodate blanks 158 having different widths. The fingerblock 170 has a flat stepped portion 176 into which a complimentaryportion of the key block 174 fits to prevent relative rotationtherebetween. A tongue portion 177 across the surface of the key block174 has a complimentary width to the shouldered groove 166 in the rail154 and is affixed therein with bolts 178 into the captive nuts 167. Thetip of each finger 168 is contoured and has a contoured notch 180 tofacilitate insertionand withdrawal of ,the blank 158 from thecooperating finger assemblies 156.

Reciprocal motion is applied to the drive bridge interconnecting therails 154 of the blank transfer attachment 26 from an eccentric havingany suitable construction. One such construction is illustrated in FIG.26 where the first end of a drive link 182 is pivotally secured to thedrive bridge 160 at a point between the rails 154 by suitable means suchas a pin 183. At its second end the drive link 182 is pivotally attachedto the first end of a drive lever 184 by suitable means such as a pin185. At its second end the drive lever 184 is pivotally secured to afulcrum bracket 186 by suitable means such as a bearing 187. The fulcrumbracket 186 is rigidly secured to the mounting bed 12 by thestandardi'zed mounting provisions thereof in the same manner asdiscussed previously. A roller 188 is pivotally mounted along the lengthof the drive lever 184 with its surface in contact with cam 190 which isdriven from the peripheral shafts 28.

Each operation involving a blank 158 is adapted with provisions formanipulating the blank 158 between its location within the cooperatingfinger assemblies 156 and its metal working location in the operation.These manipulative provisions can vary depending on the nature of theoperation performed but generally are achieved by disposing conventionalstripper pins across the operation to move in opposition to one anotheralong common axes and thereby grip the blank 158 therebetween. After theblank 158 is gripped between opposing stripper pins, it can bemanipulated either into or out of the finger assemblies 156. Thestripper pins are driven from the peripheral shafts 28 through cams andsuitable linkage and therefore the manipulative action of the stripperpins canbe sequenced to occur at precise times during the process cycle.

In operation the blank transfer attachment 26 functions to convey blanks158 cut from the stock 16 to a sequence'of operations to which stock 16is not fed by the stock feed attachment 14. This is accomplished bydepositing blanks 158 into a pair of finger assemblies 156 at thecompletion of the progressive die operation 20 and conveying the blanks.158 through other pairs of finger assemblies 156 from operation tooperation throughout the remainder of the process plan. Each pair offinger assemblies 156 moves reciprocally between two press and/orforming operations and therefore each blank 158 is conveyed in a seriesof incremental steps through every pair of finger assemblies 156 alongthe process line.

Reciprocal motion for the blank transfer attachment 26 is generated fromthe cam 190 through the roller 188 which causes the drive lever 184 tosweep an are periodically about the bearing 187. The arc motion of thedrive lever 184 is imposed on one end of the drive link 182 whichtranslates the arc motion to linear motion at the pivot pin 183 on thedrive bridge 160 due to the constraining action exerted on the rails 154by the channel blocks 162. Because the arc motion is periodic, thelinear motion is periodic and the rails 154 reciprocate in the channelblocks 162 at a predetermined stroke. This reciprocal motion istransferred directly to each pair of finger assemblies 156 rigidlyaffixed to the rails 154. Variations in the stroke are generallyaccomplished by changing the cam 190, however, other suitable meanscould be used such as slots to vary the location of either or both thepivot pin and the roller 188 along the length of the drive lever 184.

At each operation the stripper pins converge across the process line to.rigidly grasp the blank 158 and manipulate it either into orout of thecooperating finger assemblies 156. This grasping action by the stripperpins is sequentially timed to compliment the reciprocal motion appliedto the cooperating finger assemblies 156 sothat at each operation, theblanks 158 are deposited by one pair of cooperating finger assemblies156 before the operation is performed and picked up by another pair ofcooperating finger assemblies 156 after the operation is performed.Therefore, at the beginning of each process cycle, each pair ofcooperating finger assemblies 156 with a blank 158 disposed therebetweenis advanced to arrive at its pre-performance operation. Then at eachpre-performance operation, the stripper pins converge upon the blank 158to remove it from between the cooperating finger assemblies 156 andorient it within the tooling at that operation. All pairs of fingerassemblies 156 then move away from their pre-performance operations inthe direction of their post-performance operations and all operationsare performed on the blanks 158. After completion of all operations,each pair of cooperating finger assemblies 156 then arrive at itspost-performance operation. Then at each post-performance operation, thestripper pins converge upon the blank 158 to remove it from within thetooling at that operation and position it within the cooperating fingerassemblies 156. Each pair of finger assemblies 156 with a blank 158disposed therebe tween is then advanced toward its preperformanceoperation where another process cycle is" begun.-

In transfer, the blanks 158 are maintained between each pair ofcooperating finger assemblies 156 in the notches 180 of the fingers 168and retained therein by the opposing forces exerted from the springs172. When the blank 158 is manipulated either into-or out of thecooperating finger assemblies 156, a lateral force is applied to theblank 158 by the stripper pins which causes-the blank 158 topressagainst the contoured surface of the fingers 168. Then each finger168 is caused to retract into its finger block 170 against the bias ofthe springs 172 until the space between the cooperating fingerassemblies 156 is sufficient to permit the blank 158 to pass laterallybetween the finger assemblies 156. a I

As is a conventional technique, a stock feed attachment 14 can beattached to each end of the machine to process two separate workpiecesis converging directions along the process line. This technique can besupplemented with a blank transfer attachment 26 operating in eachdirection along the process line to convey the blank 158 of eachworkpiece to a common operation where the two separate workpieces arejoined in assembly. 4

Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that the multiplepress and forming machine embodied by this invention may be utilized tofabricate metal parts in accordance with a multitude of process plansregardless of the number, the nature, or the sequence of the operationsinvolved. Furthermore, this machine is constructed on a symmetricalmounting bed having a variable length and mounting surface. Standardizedmounting provisions are maintained over the entire mounting surface andare supplemented with forming slides having an adjustable effectivelength parallel to the process line, to permit the performance of anyoperation at any selected location on the machine. Versatility is alsoderived by supporting the peripheral shafts in detachable supportbrackets having one-piece bearings and by actuating the stock feedcarriage through a nonreciprocating spline to thereby reduce itsreciprocating I mass. Dependency on the stock to convey the workpiecebetween operations is avoided by the incorporation of the blank transferattachment which also makes it possible to assemble two differentworkpieces at a single operation after processing the workpiecesseparately from opposite ends of the machine.

It should be understood that the present disclosure has been made onlyby way of example and that numerouschanges in details of theconstruction and combination or arrangement of parts may be resorted towithout departing from the true spirit or scope of the invention andshould be construed'as illustrative rather than limiting.

What is claimed is: v

1. A multiple press and forming machine of the type wherein machineattachments. are organized on a mounting bed anclv actuated from shaftsperipheral thereto in performing a sequence of metal working operationsaccording to a process plan on,either wire or strip stock fed along aprocess line extending through all the operations, the improvementcomprising: I

said mounting bed being constructed'from a basic module withsupplemental modules being connected thereon to increase both the lengthof the process line and the mounting surface available for the machineattachments, said basic module being of fixed length along the processline and having a fixed mounting surface for the machine attachments,each said supplementalmodules being configured to increase the fixedlength and fixed mounting surface of said basic module by predeterminedincrements.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein continuous mounting provisions aredisposed on saidbasic module and said supplemental modules to extendacross the mounting surface of said mounting bed, said continuousmounting provisions allowing for affixment of the machine attachments onsaid mounting bed at any selected'location therealong.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein T slots are utilized to providesaid continuous mounting provisions.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein continuous mounting provisions aredisposed on said basic module and said supplemental modules to extendhorizontally across all four vertical sides of said mounting bed, saidcontinuous mounting provisions allowing for affixment of detachablebrackets to support the peripheral shafts at any selected locationtherealong.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein T slots are utilized to providesaid continuous mounting provi sions.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein continuous mounting provisions aredisposed on said basic module and said supplemental modules to extendacross the top surface andhorizontally across all four vertical sides ofsaid mounting bed, said continuous mounting provisions allowing foraffixment of the machine attachments on said mounting bed at anyselected location therealong.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein T slots are utilized to providesaid continuous mounting provisions.

8. A multiple press and forming machine of the type wherein machineattachments are organized on a mounting bed and actuated from shaftsperipheral thereto in performing a sequence of metal working operationsaccording to a process plan on either wire or strip stock fed along aprocess line extending through all the operations, the improvementcomprismg: I detachable brackets for supporting the peripheral shafts onthe mounting bed, said detachable brackets including mounting provisionsfor affixment to the mounting bed, said mounting provisions beingcomplementary with continuous mounting provisions on the mounting bed,each said detachable bracket being locatable on the mounting bed at anyselected position along the continuous mounting provisions thereof.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said detachable brackets are ofone piece construction and are adapted to receive one piece bearings.

10. In a multiple press and forming machine of the type whereinmachining attachments are organized on a mounting bed and actuated fromshafts peripheral thereto in performing a sequence of metal workingoperations according to a process plan on either wire or strip stock fedalong a process line extending through all said operations, theimprovement comprisa stock feed carriage disposed with a reciprocalmotion along a spline parallel to said process line and gripping saidstock in synchronized sequence with said reciprocal motion to carry saidstock along said process line, said stock gripping action being actuatedby rotation of said spline to reduce the reciprocated mass of said stockfeed carriage.

11. In the combination of claim 10 wherein said stock feed carriage isreciprocally disposed on guide rails parallel to said spline, having ahousing adapted to receive a gripping mechanism;

said gripping mechanism having a roller link disposed to slide alongsaid spline and to rotate in response to the rotation .of said spline,said roller link being pivotally connected radially from the axis ofsaid rotation to the first end of a translating link, the second end ofsaid translating link being pivotally connected to the first ends of apush link and a pull link, the second end of said push link beingpivotally connected to a gripping shoe and the second end of said pulllink being pivotally connected to a pivot block, said gripping shoebeing slidably disposed in said housing to extend through a first sidethereof and said pivot block is slidably disposed in said housing toextend through a second side thereof opposite said first side, saidpivot block being adapted with a wedge head on the end ex tending fromsaid housing, said wedge head being adapted with an inclined surfaceinengagement with a complimentary inclined surface on a wedge block, saidhousing being adapted with a captive screw and said wedge block beingadapted to slide in response to rotation of said captive screw to changethe disposition of said pivot block in said housing;

a bearing plate being secured to said housing over the path of extensionof said gripping shoe from said housing;

said stock being disposed between said gripping shoe and said bearingplate and said captive screw being operable to vary the distance betweensaid gripping shoe and said bearing plate to grip said stock therebetween on rotation of said spline in one direction.

12. A multiple press and forming machine of the type wherein machineattachments are organized on a mounting bed and actuated from shaftsperipheral thereto in performing a sequence of metal working operationsaccording to a process plan on either wire or strip stock fed along aprocess line extending through all the operations, the improvementcomprising:

a blank transfer attachment for conveying blanks through a sequence ofmetal working operations with the blanks being cut from the stock at thefirst operation in said sequence and all subsequent operations in saidsequence being performed on the blanks independently of the stock, saidblank transfer attachment being disposed to have reciprocal motion alongthe process line with cooperating finger assemblies oppositely locatedvin pairs across the process line, said cooperating finger assembliesbeing equally spaced at an incremental distance along the process line,said incremental distance being equal to both the stroke of saidreciprocal motion and the centerline spacing between all operations insaid sequence, each said pair of finger assemblies reciprocating betweentwo operations in said sequence to receive the blanks at one operationafter the performance thereof and to deposit the blanks at the otheroperation before the performance thereof, each operation in saidsequence being adapted with stripper pins acting in opposite directionsacross the process line to grip the blanks in timed sequence with theprocess performed at the operation and manipulate the blanks between theoperation and said cooperating finger assemblies.

13. The combination of claim 12 wherein each said cooperating fingerassembly includes a finger adapted to slidein a finger block against aspring bias, each said finger block being secured to a rail supportedparallel to said process line on bracket supports mounted to saidmounting bed, each said rail being disposed freely to slide in channelblocks affixed to said bracket supports, said rails being rigidlyinterconnected by a drive bridge at one end of said mounting bed, andsaid drive bridge being driven reciprocally through a stroke equal tosaid incremental distance from said shafts.

14. The combination of claim 12 wherein said stock is fed from opposingends of said machine and said blank transfer attachment is disposed induplicate to convey blanks in converging directions along said processline, each said blank transfer attachment conveying a particular blankthrough a separate sequence of operations, said particular blanksconverging at a common operation to each said sequence and being joinedin assembly thereat.

15. A multiple press and forming machine of the type wherein machineattachments are organized on a mounting bed and actuated from shaftsperipheral thereto in performing a sequence of metal working

1. A multiple press and forming machine of the type wherein machineattachments are organized on a mounting bed and actuated from shaftsperipheral thereto in performing a sequence of metal working operationsaccording to a process plan on either wire or strip stock fed along aprocess line extending through all the operations, the improvementcomprising: said mounting bed being constructed from a basic module withsupplemental modules being connected thereon to increase both the lengthof the process line and the mounting surface available for the machineattachments, said basic module being of fixed length along the processline and having a fixed mounting surface for the machine attachments,each said supplemental modules being configured to increase the fixedlength and fixed mounting surface of said basic module by predeterminedincrements.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein continuous mountingprovisions are disposed on said basic module and said supplementalmodules to extend across the mounting surface of said mounting bed, saidcontinuous mounting provisions allowing for affixment of the machineattachments on said mounting bed at any selected location therealong. 3.The combination of claim 2 wherein ''''T'''' slots are utilized toprovide said continuous mounting provisions.
 4. The combination of claim1 wherein continuous mounting provisions are disposed on said basicmodule and said supplemental modules to extend horizontally across allfour vertical sides of said mounting bed, said continuous mountingprovisions allowing for affixment of detachable brackets to support theperipheral shafts at any selected location therealong.
 5. Thecombination of claim 4 wherein ''''T'''' slots are utilized to providesaid continuous mounting provisions.
 6. The combination of claim 1wherein continuous mounting provisions are disposed on said basic moduleand said supplemental modules to extend across the top surface andhorizontally across all four vertical sides of said mounting bed, saidcontinuous mounting provisions allowing for affixment of the machineattachments on said mounting bed at any selected location therealong. 7.The combination of claim 6 wherein ''''T'''' slots are utilized toprovide said continuous mounting provisions.
 8. A multiple press andforming machine of the type wherein machine attachments are organized ona mounting bed and actuated from shafts peripheral thereto in performinga sequence of metal working operations according to a process plan oneither wire or strip stock fed along a process line extending throughall the operations, the improvement comprising: detachable brackets forsupporting the peripheral shafts on the mounting bed, said detachablebrackets including mounting provisions for affixment to the mountingbed, said mounting provisions being complementary with continuousmounting provisions on the mounting bed, each said detachable bracketbeing locatable on the mounting bed at any selected position along thecontinuous mounting provisions thereof.
 9. The combination of claim 8wherein said detachable brackets are of one piece construction and areadapted to receive onE piece bearings.
 10. In a multiple press andforming machine of the type wherein machining attachments are organizedon a mounting bed and actuated from shafts peripheral thereto inperforming a sequence of metal working operations according to a processplan on either wire or strip stock fed along a process line extendingthrough all said operations, the improvement comprising: a stock feedcarriage disposed with a reciprocal motion along a spline parallel tosaid process line and gripping said stock in synchronized sequence withsaid reciprocal motion to carry said stock along said process line, saidstock gripping action being actuated by rotation of said spline toreduce the reciprocated mass of said stock feed carriage.
 11. In thecombination of claim 10 wherein said stock feed carriage is reciprocallydisposed on guide rails parallel to said spline, having a housingadapted to receive a gripping mechanism; said gripping mechanism havinga roller link disposed to slide along said spline and to rotate inresponse to the rotation of said spline, said roller link beingpivotally connected radially from the axis of said rotation to the firstend of a translating link, the second end of said translating link beingpivotally connected to the first ends of a push link and a pull link,the second end of said push link being pivotally connected to a grippingshoe and the second end of said pull link being pivotally connected to apivot block, said gripping shoe being slidably disposed in said housingto extend through a first side thereof and said pivot block is slidablydisposed in said housing to extend through a second side thereofopposite said first side, said pivot block being adapted with a wedgehead on the end extending from said housing, said wedge head beingadapted with an inclined surface in engagement with a complimentaryinclined surface on a wedge block, said housing being adapted with acaptive screw and said wedge block being adapted to slide in response torotation of said captive screw to change the disposition of said pivotblock in said housing; a bearing plate being secured to said housingover the path of extension of said gripping shoe from said housing; saidstock being disposed between said gripping shoe and said bearing plateand said captive screw being operable to vary the distance between saidgripping shoe and said bearing plate to grip said stock therebetween onrotation of said spline in one direction.
 12. A multiple press andforming machine of the type wherein machine attachments are organized ona mounting bed and actuated from shafts peripheral thereto in performinga sequence of metal working operations according to a process plan oneither wire or strip stock fed along a process line extending throughall the operations, the improvement comprising: a blank transferattachment for conveying blanks through a sequence of metal workingoperations with the blanks being cut from the stock at the firstoperation in said sequence and all subsequent operations in saidsequence being performed on the blanks independently of the stock, saidblank transfer attachment being disposed to have reciprocal motion alongthe process line with cooperating finger assemblies oppositely locatedin pairs across the process line, said cooperating finger assembliesbeing equally spaced at an incremental distance along the process line,said incremental distance being equal to both the stroke of saidreciprocal motion and the centerline spacing between all operations insaid sequence, each said pair of finger assemblies reciprocating betweentwo operations in said sequence to receive the blanks at one operationafter the performance thereof and to deposit the blanks at the otheroperation before the performance thereof, each operation in saidsequence being adapted with stripper pins acting in opposite directionsacross the process line to grip the blanks in timed sequence with theprocess performed at the operation and manipUlate the blanks between theoperation and said cooperating finger assemblies.
 13. The combination ofclaim 12 wherein each said cooperating finger assembly includes a fingeradapted to slide in a finger block against a spring bias, each saidfinger block being secured to a rail supported parallel to said processline on bracket supports mounted to said mounting bed, each said railbeing disposed freely to slide in channel blocks affixed to said bracketsupports, said rails being rigidly interconnected by a drive bridge atone end of said mounting bed, and said drive bridge being drivenreciprocally through a stroke equal to said incremental distance fromsaid shafts.
 14. The combination of claim 12 wherein said stock is fedfrom opposing ends of said machine and said blank transfer attachment isdisposed in duplicate to convey blanks in converging directions alongsaid process line, each said blank transfer attachment conveying aparticular blank through a separate sequence of operations, saidparticular blanks converging at a common operation to each said sequenceand being joined in assembly thereat.
 15. A multiple press and formingmachine of the type wherein machine attachments are organized on amounting bed and actuated from shafts peripheral thereto in performing asequence of metal working operations according to a process plan oneither wire or strip stock fed along a process line extending throughall of the operations, the improvement comprising: forming slidesdisposed along the process line and acting to perform an operationlaterally thereacross, the location of said operation along the processline being determined by the effective length of said forming slides,each said forming slide including means for varying it effective lengthto perform said operation at any location along the process line. 16.The combination of claim 15 wherein said means for varying the effectivelength comprises an intermediate link.
 17. In a multiple press machineof the type wherein machine attachments are organized on a mounting bedand actuated from shafts peripheral thereto in performing a sequence ofmetal forming operations according to a process plan on either wire orstrip stock fed along a process line extending through all saidoperations, the improvement comprising: said mounting bed beingconstructed from one or more modules, each said module increasing themounting surface of said mounting bed in both length and area bypredetermined increments; said shafts being supported peripherally onsaid mounting bed in detachable support brackets; said mounting bedincluding a mounting surface on the top surface and all four sidesurfaces thereof, all said mounting surfaces being adapted to havestandardized mounting provisions for all said machine attachments;forming slides disposed parallel to said process line, each said formingslide including means for varying the effective length along saidprocess line, said forming slides being effective at any location alongsaid process line; a stock feed carriage disposed to have a reciprocalmotion along a spline parallel to said process line and gripping saidstock in synchronized sequence with said reciprocal motion to carry saidstock along said process line, said stock gripping action being actuatedby rotation of said spline to reduce the reciprocated mass of said stockfeed carriage; and a blank transfer means for conveying blanks through asequence of said operations, said blanks being cut from said stock atthe first operation in said sequence and all subsequent operations insaid sequence being performed on said blanks independently of saidstock.